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David Jacobs Thinking of taking it Easy? Radio 2's David Jacobs will be your guide... easy facts video Watch David tell you five easy facts Audio help 5 albums you have to own
easy facts video
David Jacobs David gives you the lowdown on the Easy albums you should be listening to... easy albums video Watch David tell you about five easy albums Audio help Key events in easy Close To Them In the 70s, The Carpenters introduced easy listening to a new generation. Their wistfully melodic sounds stood in stark contrast to the excessive, gaudy and downright moody glam, prog and punk rockers of the decade -and their record sales are high to this day. Frank, Dean And The Guys Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack; Sammy Davis Jr, Dean Martin, Shirley MacLaine,Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop among them, typified the cool and edgy nature of easy. In The Mood The invention of the Long-Playing record sparks a boom in concept albums -so-called Mood Music -by artists such as Ray Anthony,Paul Weston, Ray Anthony, Mantovani, Ray Coniff and Percy Faith. Electric Sounds The development of the electric microphone allowed Bing Crosby to use his mid-range for singing after he developed nodules on his vocal cords. The Crooner, central to theeasy listeningmood and style, is born. Easy's Back The 1990s saw a resurgence of easy listening, with acts like Andy Williams, Tony Bennett and Dionne Warwick (pictured above) back in vogue, and a raft of easy listening compilations hit the record shops. Key easy songwriters
easy albums video
Cole Porter Cole Porter Berlin's great rival for the exalted position of Greatest Writer of Popular Song In The Last Century is Cole Porter, with songs such as "I've Got You Under My Skin", "I Get A Kick Out Of You", "Night And Day", "Love For Sale"... audio icon Easy to love performed by Billie Holiday audio icon I Get A Kick Out Of You performed by Billie Holliday audio icon I've Got You Under My Skin
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Irving Berlin Irving Berlin For a guy who couldn't read music and knew only one key on the piano, Irving didn't do too badly, writing some of the most-famous songs of the 20th Century including "Blue Skies", "Cheek To Cheek", "There's No Business Like Showbusiness". audio icon Top Hat, White Tie and Tails performed by Fred Astaire audio icon Cheek to Cheek performed by Billie Holiday audio icon Say It Isn't So performed by Billie Holiday
Burt Bacharach Burt Bacharach & Hal David Bacharach & David updated Easy Listening in the 1960s with a host of effortlessly classy songs for artists like Dionne Warwick and Dusty Springfield. Say A Little Prayer Say A Little Prayer performed by Dionne Warwick Listen to This Guy's In Love With You This Guy's In Love With You, performed by Sacha Distel look of love The Look Of Love, performed by Dionne Warwick Genres Rock Pop Folk Country Easy Blues Soul Jazz Reggae More songs. More artists. Newsletter sign-up Sign up for updates on new songs, documentaries and live events Music latest BBC Music Profiles Discover all you need on your favourite artist in BBC Music's great collection of profiles. DON'T MISS Doves Doves Special guests on Dermot's show this week About the BBC | Help | Terms of Use | Privacy & Cookies Policy Explore the BBC
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